


Some Sister

by viclettaaa



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Comedy, Eda is a little shit, Grief, If you are here for incest then leave please, In a nonshipping way, Lumity, Major character death - Freeform, Siblings, Sisters, Spinoff, They are sisters for christ's sake, a little bit of body horror, but this time she has rights for it, ghost au, her death is the plot, ok so basically I was really inspired by Ghost of You and wanted to make it for Eda and Lilith, rated T for the death and those types of themes, set after the "duel", since you know, teenage eda and lilith, the Emperor's Coven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viclettaaa/pseuds/viclettaaa
Summary: A black market spell, sure to strip any opponent of their powers for a day. At least. Back-alley spells like this don't always work as planned.
Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Lilith Clawthorne
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Ghost Of You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26165947) by [RainbowJeff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowJeff/pseuds/RainbowJeff). 



> This fic was inspired by the lumity ghost au by mauvta and rainbowjeff!! I cannot take responsibility for the idea of this ghost curse au- I just saw their art and read the fic and was like, “Damn, that’s amazing. What if it was like that but in a nonshipping way with Lilith and Eda?” So yeah, here we are. Second ever fanfiction so feel free to please leave feedback

A black market curse, sure to strip any opponent of their powers for a day.  
“Just for a day…”

\---

“You duel tomorrow.”

Eda Clawthorne’s eyes widened with surprise, before turning to her sister. But Lilith had already turned her back and was walking away as quickly as she could, red mane fluttering in the solemnly chill breeze. Eda’s heart broke under the enormous pressure of sympathy and pity for Lily. This is what she had wanted for so long. What they had wanted. To have that slip out of your grasp, right through your fingers and to the person you trusted most… The thought itself must be unbearable.

Eda reached her hand out and called Lilith’s name. Lilith hesitated ever so slightly at her summons before breaking out into a run and going home. Later, as Eda passed by her sister’s room, she could hear sniffling through the cracks in the fading wood door. She had probably been wallowing since that afternoon.

Eda knew she was a better and stronger witch than Lilith. So did Lilith. Eda knew she’d beat her at the duel tomorrow and likely lose Lily. She couldn’t stand the thought of it, and didn’t see how the current situation would benefit either of them. That night, under the bright white moonlight streaming through her open window, Eda sat on her bedframe and pondered for what felt like hours. Eda had always been rebellious, but as she aged that childish refusal to authority evolved into a well-thought-out and mature refusal to authority. Mature in the sense that she was 16 now of course, and not 11.

The idea of totally refusing the coven system had first occurred to Eda at the start of her first year as a highschool student at Hexide, and had since always nagged at the back of her mind. Though she begged, whined, and even (she shuddered to remember) respectfully requested that she may be allowed to study all tracks at school, Bootlicker Bump still declined the suggestion and placed her in potions. Eda is pretty sure she retained only about 0.02% of the useless information shoved down her throat in that class.

But the complete lack of sense for why she couldn’t study each kind of magic while still in school utterly baffled her. She wasn’t completely committed to a coven yet, so why? Then it occurred to her: control. She’d been very little when Belos took over, and nobody seemed to protest terribly. Except the mysterious “wild witches” of course. Strangers painted as villains so the populace wouldn’t question their abuse.

Belos’ takeover and extermination of coven-nonconforming witches was some unspoken taboo on the Boiling Isles, but hey, as long as the majority of the population is happy right? The mysterious Emperor’s lust for control reached down all the way to the youngest of witches, pressuring them and compressing them for his system.

It was after thinking about this, all those years ago and now again, that Edalyn Clawthorne drew her final conclusion. The coven system was absolutely fucked up, and she would have no part in it.

Eda knew the personal responsibility that would have to follow. She’d have to run away, and always have her guard up. Leave her parents behind. Leave Lilith behind. Eda smiled to herself softly. She might not get to see Lily as much, or even at all, after tomorrow, but at least they’ll both be doing what makes them happy. As far as Eda could tell, it was more of a win-win situation than the other option: join a Coven (bleh) AND lose her sister.

Eda swung her feet around to hang off the side of her bed. She hopped off, landing on the musty eyeless wendigo rug that lay sprawled on the floor in the middle of her greatly-adorned bedroom. She’d killed the demon on a hunting trip to the Knee with Lilith and their kooky uncle a couple years prior. That was a fun trip.

Mismatched and holey socks carried Eda to her sister’s room. Eda raised her fist to knock but thought better of it and stopped herself. It was late, and Lilith’s light was off. It might have taken her a while to doze off into a fitful slumber, so Eda didn’t want to wake her.

A lightbulb went off in Eda’s brain. If she was going to have to live on the lamb after being one of the first witches in decades to defy the great Emperor Belos’ wishes, she should go out with a bang, right? Yeah, right before the duel starts, she announces her desertion and gives her sister a loving farewell. “Aw yeahhh,” she whispered to herself as she made her way back to her room. Eda always had a flare for the dramatic. She changed into her pajamas and went to bed, utterly confident in how tomorrow was going to go. She went soundly to sleep and did not wake up until the spectacular light of dawn screeched through her open window the next morning.

\---

Lilith had been sulking and wallowing in self pity for around 5 hours now. Lilith was smart enough to know that was too long, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Her green eyes were red-rimmed and puffed up under her glasses. She had to take them off a couple times to de-fog them that first hour or two, but after that they’ve seemed to be able to stay clear enough to see through.

“Eda will beat me. I know she will! She’s just that good. It’s not fair- I’m the eldest!” Lilith woefully complained. Now it may seem to any passerby of Lilith Clawthorne’s bedroom at that moment that she had been rambling to herself in a hysterical episode of self-pity. But that was untrue. You see, Lilith Clawthorne had in fact been woefully rambling to Cawrl, her raven palisman, in a hysterical episode of self-pity. She had gotten to carve him with Hexide’s woodsmith earlier that year, since she was now 18 and ready to join a coven. She didn’t know if Eda would get to carve her staff soon since she was already being sought after by the Emperor’s Coven at 16, or if she would still have to wait until she was 18.

Cawrl (Lilith had lost a bet to her sister) looked at her skeptically. Like his witch, he was overall a reserved and poised being, so right now he was not sure how to act. Mostly he just listened, since he couldn’t talk and didn’t know sign language, and therefore could not contribute to the conversation. One day Lilith might figure out how to communicate with him, but apparently she had not gotten around to it yet.

“I just wish it could be the both of us! Or that we could have talked about it!” Lilith neglected the fact that she could have taken a break anytime during her 5 hour sulk to go talk to Eda, and that Eda had probably just wanted to give her some space.

“I just… I don’t know. It’s what we always wanted, but lately she doesn’t even seem that interested. If I could just get in now, she has next year and the year after to apply again! This is my only shot! If I could just win, I could show the Coven how much I care about it… How hard I try. If only my power...”

Lilith drifted off into deep thought for a moment, before her sulking features unpleasantly hardened into bitter and determined ones. At this point, Cawrl let out a soft coo, becoming disturbingly worried about the young witch. She ignored his sign of concern as she grabbed her staff and beckoned him to take his place on the interlock. She threw her travel cloak over her shoulders and pushed the hood over her eyes. The auburn-haired witch lifted herself onto her window frame and took a moment to solidify her plan before lifting her staff and dropping onto it from the window. She made fast headway, cutting through the chill night air and illuminating moonlight as she coldly evaluated her intent.

It wasn’t soon after that the younger of the sisters tiptoed outside Lilith’s door, only to turn around and contentedly go to sleep rather than knocking.

\---

The eldest Clawthorne sister’s circular frames glowed through the dark, illuminated bright white under the moon streaming through her little sister’s open window. Similar to the cat, body sheltered under the cover of darkness but glowing eyes betraying intent to defenseless prey, she crept closer to her victim as she snored softly and let the slightest bit of drool ooze down from the corner of her mouth. Lilith’s mass of auburn curls remained hidden behind her cloak, but some stray strands of Eda’s long ginger mane fluttered over her face in the slight night breeze, sticking to said saliva.

Lilith thought for a moment. Was this worth it? Was this fair? Then she thought of the Coven, to which she had dedicated her life and she wasn’t even a part of yet. She thought of Eda, bound to get in but lacking in passion and seemingly riding off of pure talent. Lilith turned more bitter each second she thought about it. She narrowed her eyes, like the killer feline before pouncing, and drew the black market scroll from within the folds of black fabric encasing her. “It’s only for a day.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: BODY HORROR THIS CHAPTER  
> Hi yes it has been forever. I've been really busy with school and personal stuff. But I'm here now and ready for angst! I marked the part with tw: body horror. Hope you enjoy. Gonna try and make it five chapters.

“LILYY WE’RE GONNA BE LAATEEE!!”

“SHUT UPP, I’M COMINGG!”

Lilith stumbled down the stairs, almost falling when she missed the last step. Her bookbag swung around her neck and shoulder, the added weight not helping her keep balanced as she tried to steady herself and not break her ankles. When she straightened back up at the foot of the stairs, Eda was laughing at her, pointing a joking finger in Lilith’s face. It had a bandaid on it, maybe from Eda giving some jerk a right hook, or it could have just been from heating up leftovers and burning herself. With Eda it could have been either, and Lilith thought it was funny that the bandaid and its mystery perfectly summed up Eda. Most talented juvenile witch on the Boiling Isles, featuring bandaid that could have been from attempting to right the wrongs of this world,  _ or _ from attempting a simple task.

Lilith felt a little more guilty every second that passed. It was weighing her down, and why they could definitely be late to the single most important day of their lives. This morning, it was like having a giant crushing heel on her chest, pinning her to her bed even though the sun was peeking over the horizon and she knew she should be getting ready to leave. By the time she got dressed, she was in a slight panic, knowing that they had to get the hell out of there or both of their futures would be ruined for sure. She grabbed a hardened piece of toast and followed Eda out the door. She couldn’t bring Cawrl to the duel, since it was a display of personal magical ability, and their parents were out, so they were just going to have to book it to Hexide.

“I think I have a headache already. Just from the start, throbbing temples...”

“Aw it won’t be so bad sis!”

Lilith raised an eyebrow and readjusted her glasses. Eda’s words had a suspicious air of  _ glee _ to them. What could she be gleeful about? Beating her and crushing her dreams, ruining her future? Lilith tried to sweep the bitter thought away, knowing that Eda wasn’t the malicious type.

“What do you mean?” Lilith inquired, eying Eda not with intent, but curiosity.

“Ohh nothing~” Eda smirked.

“Listen here you little shit-”

“Hey no need to get mean.. Just trust me, everything will work out. I promise.” Eda had immediately switched from suave and joking to serious and even somber. This only piqued Lilith’s curiosity, but she didn’t ask any more questions. Unfortunately, her guilt also seemed at a high, and her heart ached with regret. What would happen to her little sister? Probably nothing, Lilith knew. But last night, as she held the scroll, she felt a terrible malice come from the glowing red inlet and the details remained smudged. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible might happen.

\---

They walked onto the grudgby field outside Hexide, where the obstacles and features had been temporarily un-hexed for the Emperor’s Coven tryout duels. As grudgby prodigies (academics weren’t enough for them apparently), the Clawthorne sisters both thought it strange to step on the playing field 1; without any gear on, 2; without being attacked by the courts or even having a ball in hand, and 3; not being on the same team. They both sighed before looking at each other and raising their eyebrows. Great minds think alike, they guessed.

“Hey Clawthornes!!” The sisters shot each other a glance before looking up to see Odalia, their friend of sorts, approaching them. One hand was waving at the pair and the other was laced through the arm of her boyfriend, the Blight kid. He was taller than her by at least a head, and his spiky brown hair and overbearing stature only contributed to the striking physical differences.

Eda suggestively darted her eyes between Lilith and the smaller of the couple. Then she nudged Lilith in the side a little, causing her to blush. “I'M OVER IT” she whispered moodily. She quickly regained composure as the green-haired witch approached them, her beauty spot highlighted on pale skin and an erect posture holding her chin high.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite pair of gingers. What are you doing here?” Odalia asked the sisters, the slightest hint of condescendence in her rather prissy voice.

“They’re here to duel for a place in the Emperor’s Coven,” the Blight answered before either of the sisters could. He was in Lilith’s class but she never heard him speak very much, and his voice was so deep that she might have jumped a bit with surprise upon hearing it.

“Ohh that’s so cool! Congrats!” She clapped her hands together before turning to her boyfriend. “Well we should let them get ready. Wouldn’t want any distractions - come on Alador.”

The sisters said goodbye before turning back to each other. Once they were out of earshot, Lilith felt her shoulder being tapped.

“That crooked-nosed troll has his work cut out for him. But I’m sure Odalia pays for his kibble,” Eda snorted.

“You’re so mean!”

“I’m just saying!” They both giggled. The preppy couple had an air of arrogance about them, and wanted to be friends with all the most powerful witches their age. The Clawthornes knew they were a pair of pricks, but they weren’t terrible, and both of the gingers knew that sometimes it was better to keep bridges rather than burn them.

\--- *TW: BODY HORROR*

Lilith lay in her bed a few days later. The best she could remember of that day, when she temporarily forgot her own guilt and dread, was their conversation about Odalia and Alador. From there, everything happened so fast. Yet, her mind seems to want to play it on repeat. She closed her eyes and rubbed her raw face, knowing that the darkness under her eyelids wouldn’t bring sleep, only vividly fretful and fast-paced memory...

The time had come. The sisters squared up on the field, and when the masked Coven member rang the gong they ran at each other in fiery passion, electric magic welling at their fingertips. But before anything even happened, Eda lowered her fists and faced away from her sister.

“I refuse to battle my sister!”

She reapproached her. “I decided covens aren’t really my style. Hey, try not to forget me when you’re a big shot, sis.”

Lilith was dumbstruck and hardly even felt her sisters knuckle playfully grace her chin. She should have taken that moment to be relieved, but she didn't have the time. Her eyes didn’t leave her sister as she left, and they made her witness all hell unfold from there.

Eda was walking away, no longer facing Lilith, but this did not lessen the chill of the agonizing scream the younger issued. She collapsed to the hard earth, clutching at her chest. Deep and ragged breaths overwhelmed the ginger, and her vision was fading in and out. She screamed in panic, and put her hands over her eyes. Her fingers were scaly, and she watched in horror as her skin stretched over her bones, sharpening into claws and bending into animal limbs. Her back felt like it was breaking, her joints exploding as her teen body was forced to triple in size, and her nerves seemed to scream out in agony as her eye sockets stretched wide, her neck vertebrae broke and re-healed and lengthened.

The onlookers in the stands were stricken with utter horror, and several Coven members were weaving through the maze of spectators to get down to the field. Lilith couldn’t process what was happening. Her mind was in a state of sheer shock as she was forced by her own freezing body to witness her sister’s terrible transformation.

Tears were streaming down Eda’s face and she was almost unconscious, her mind separate from her body now. Blood streamed down her chin, her jaw straining to stay attached to her skull as giant fangs forced themselves to protrude through her gums, uprooting her regular teeth in the process. And last was the feathers. The feathers and the wings.

To Eda, it felt as if tens of millions of pinpricks were stabbing every bit of skin on her body. An uncountable number of tiny enemies, taking to her pores and forcing them to rip open on the tiniest of levels. It was like fire, fire everywhere eating at her skin, but she couldn’t stop it and she couldn’t ease it. Then when the feathers forced themselves through, Eda wished only for death. She could think of nothing else but wanting the pain to end. It was knives everywhere and all over, stabbing her from the inside hundreds upon hundreds of times, but she wouldn’t bleed and she wouldn’t die. The wings seemed to happen faster, because there were only two, but that did not mean that her skin ripping open and her ribs being shoved aside for the creation of the appendages didn’t contribute to her death wish. All Eda knew was pain, but lucky for her, she finally lost consciousness. Black flooded her enlarged eyes like ink floods a parchment once spilled upon a desk.

Lilith felt herself be shoved aside, and she fell to the ground. She lay there, not really wishing to get back up, ever. She wished everyone in the stands would run down and kick her. Kick her in the head, in the stomach, everywhere. She knew she deserved it.

Footfall surrounded her. She slowly began to rise, but everything was so slow. She had tunnel vision, and the grey around her turned grayer. The owl beast rampaged bloodily, but its conquest was shortly lived. It was hit a few times before starting to convulse, and Lilith could hear its joints popping and it began to bleed. The spell was not of the best quality, and it could neither build the beast nor hold it together properly. It collapsed in a pile of feathers, ginger hair, and blood.

\---

Lilith kicked and punched and bit her way through the Coven members to the body of the owl beast. She fell to her knees at her sister’s side and only felt like screaming for hours and hours.

“GET AWAY FROM HER! GET AWAY!” She flailed wildly at the worried attendees, threatening them with sparking blue magic, flaming from her fingertips. It roared like a blazing bonfire for a minute before abruptly shrinking. Lilith breathed heavily, and the Coven members attempted to approach her and the body once again.

“Don’t come any closer.”

“Kid, you have to get out of the way. We need to make sure she can’t harm anyone.”   
“What’s there to make sure of? She’s dead!”

They stopped. Lilith could feel their pity and their sympathy emanating through their masks and hoods. She couldn’t stand it. She didn’t deserve it. She breathed heavily, before breaking into hysterical laughter and finally sobs. Cracking sobs, desperate for breaths. She turned away from them, wishing they would leave and knowing they wouldn’t. She lay over her sister and sobbed, cried until her face was as raw as a skinned animal and she was so tired that she passed out surrounded by blood and feathers.

  
  


\---

It had been a month. One month since Lilith purchased a supposedly one-day curse from the Black Market. One month since Lilith had been overwhelmed with such bitter jealousy and pettiness that she decided cheating was her only option. One month since Lilith had acted so rashly and irresponsibly that it cost her sister her life. One month since Lilith murdered her little sister, Edalyn Clawthorne.

They had a funeral of course. Eulogies from their parents, friends, girlfriend, even Principal Bump. It was very small and short, with no afterparty. Nobody felt the need to celebrate. Eda was worth celebrating, but it is much harder to feel in any way like doing so after a bloody and violent death. The Conformatorium and the Emperor’s Coven were still hunting for the cursor, and petrification for the criminal was a likely possibility.

Lilith hadn’t told anybody. She couldn’t. She knew she was deserving of any punishment, so that wasn’t the problem. She couldn’t bear to tear her family apart more than she already had.

She spent most of her days at school not speaking a word besides answering her teachers’ questions about the curriculum. Her education was still a vital part of her future, whether or not she cared about having one. When she got home, she did her work before crying herself to sleep. She even ate dinner occasionally. She couldn’t stand how the world kept turning, even if Eda wasn’t there. She couldn’t stand knowing nothing would really go back to normal, though everything would try and force it to.

\---

Tonight Lilith sat finishing her work, pushing tormenting memories out of her mind. She knew she should sleep, but she just propped up her head in her hands. She glanced from her candle burning tediously away on her desk, to her even more tedious work. She thought it was all bullshit. God, she needed to sleep. She closed her eyes, fixing on the chirping sounds of the demoncricks outside and the plain smell of vanilla coming from the candle. Everything was still. Then...

_ Some sister you are. _

Lilith’s head whipped around so fast she almost snapped her own neck. She jumped up from her desk, knocking her chair to the ground. Wood clattered on wood, but Lilith didn’t take notice of the new tiny dents in her floor. Her eyes bulged behind blue glass, and greying eyebags stretched tight over pale skin. Her head swiveled around on her shoulders, desperately searching her room for the source of the familiar voice. But nobody was there.

Lilith’s face relaxed and she let out a deep sigh. She was going crazy. She turned around to bend down to pick up her chair, and sat back at her desk with her face in her hands. Tears should have been welling in her dulling green eyes, but it was as if she had run out. Or maybe she was just too tired to cry.

That must be it. It took every last ounce of strength in Lilith’s body to reach out and grasp her candle, before gently bringing it to her lips to blow out. But just before she took a breath to blow out the dancing flame, a cold ripple shattered the air and did it for her. Bright white moonlight streamed through the window, making squares on the dark floor. Lilith was slowly lifting her head when something above her caught her eye. A wisp. A wisp of ginger. She squinted and looked up, and her heart stopped in her chest when she saw what hovered above her under the rafters. No,  _ who _ .

_ Hey asshole. _


End file.
